Sarah Jones, the 27-year-old former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader and high school teacher, has come out with her teenage boyfriend,
Cody York, the boy she was accused of having an affair with while he was underage and one of her students.

"The truth will set you free," Jones tells NBC's John Rossen. "The stress fell off of me when I didn't have to hide anymore."

She does say that what they did when York was underage was "absolutely" wrong.

"There is no gray area," says Jones. "It is wrong for a teacher to have a relationship that crosses the line with a student."

York, now 18, adds, "I didn't like being called the victim because I wasn't. She never did anything to me."

He goes on to talk about how their families are friends and he's known Jones for years.

"I always looked at her as a very close friend. She was my support system. Outside of school, it just started coming along," says York. "Yeah, [the affair] was worth it. I never in a million years thought [the arrest and trial] would ever happen."

The two are featured on
"Dateline NBC" Friday, Oct. 19 at 10 p.m. ET/PT in a candid interview. When they finally do appear together, they say:

York: "I love everything about her. She can break down in front of me, she can be her worst in front me and it makes me love her even more."

Jones: "If you can love someone at their lowest, that says a lot. He says, 'Sarah, you look so beautiful in your mugshot' and that's how I know he really loves me ... We made a poor choice together but that doesn't mean we can't find happiness at the end of the day."